


Seventeen

by matterofseconds



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matterofseconds/pseuds/matterofseconds
Summary: A collection of short writings of Zoe and Madison dating in high school. (AU)Somewhat of a prequel to String Lights Lit Nights.
Relationships: Zoe Benson/Madison Montgomery
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	1. Drive Part I

**Author's Note:**

> My friend suggested that I could expand a bit on the universe of my previous story, which explores Zoe and Madison meeting as adults, years after their high school relationship. Just random pieces, here and there, of Zoe and Madison being teenagers and in love. Enjoy!
> 
> Related works:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24941299

Zoe hums to a song she can’t remember as she scrolls through Spotify on her phone, her thumb tapping furiously at the screen.

“What the fuck’s it called?” She voices angrily.

The light turns green and the brunette grunts. She’ll have to settle for whichever Top 40s is up next in queue.

“You know, this could all be avoided if we were listening to _my_ playlist.”

Zoe huffs.

“Remember what happened when I let you use the aux last time? My tires almost fucking blew out because of the bass.”

“It’s not my fault your shitty car can’t handle real metal.”

“It was intense screamo, Madison. I think I almost went deaf.”

The blonde shrugs. “Not everyone can take the truth.”

“Not everyone can take you, you mean.”

Zoe parks at the shabby gas station at the far end of town, the one where it smells like piss but the gas is cheap enough to convince her to ignore it. She turns the engine off, heading inside the store to pay.

“I want - “ Madison starts.

Zoe waves a hand casually. “I know what to do.”

A couple minutes later, Zoe is happy with the way her car greets her with a nice full tank, and Madison is happy with the strawberry ring pop on her finger.

“God, I don’t think I’ll survive if they discontinued ring pops.” Madison sucks on the candy loudly.

“Frankly, Madison, I don’t think you’d ever let them live if they tried to close.”

“Hmm.” The blonde says thoughtfully. “I think you’re right.”

The two drive in silence for a while, Madison working hard to finish her candy. It takes a few moments before Zoe realizes something, and she hastily turns the car around.

“Fuck, I left my wallet at the gas station.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, I was too busy conversing about ring pop flavours with the cashier.” Zoe explains sarcastically.

“Well, at least now I know that you’re a person who’s looking to better themselves in candy proficiency.” Madison fires back. “And that, my friend, is something I can appreciate.”

Zoe sticks her tongue out.

The wallet’s still there, thankfully. The guy working the counter seemed a bit too chatty for Zoe’s liking, and the retrieval of her wallet progressed into him asking for her number before she gives the “Sorry, I’m gay” speech very, very awkwardly.

When Zoe gets back into the car, she finds Madison with an expression eerily similar to the Grumpy Cat.

“Hurry up, bitch. I have to be at practice in ten minutes.”

“I’m driving, I’m driving.”

Zoe keeps her hands on the wheel, focused on her driving. That is, just until she’s distracted from hearing too much shuffling coming from Madison’s direction.

“Are you changing in my fucking car?”

“Keep your eyes on the road, dumbass!”

Zoe tries to ignore the fact that her girlfriend is stupid and brave enough to be changing whilst driving on the very public streets of their neighbourhood, trying very hard to keep her head from turning.

But when the car comes to a stop at a red, Zoe can’t help but take a peek.

Fateful timing, as Madison had just managed to tug out of her sweater, revealing her only in a bra and her soccer shorts. There’s a split second before she notices Zoe staring at her lightly-toned abs.

“Perv!”

“Am not!”

Zoe struggles, but fails to keep the grin off her face. The image of a half-undressed Madison is all she can think about right now, and _god_ , she hopes Madison is staying with her tonight.

After a few minutes, she pulls into the lot of the field and puts her car in park.

“What time do I pick you up?”

“Six.” Madison half-snarls, pulling her shirt down.

“My place tonight?”

“No.” Madison says firmly.

Zoe raises her voice without thinking.

“What? Why not?” She protests. “It’s Friday night.”

“Because you’re a fucking perv.”

“What? How - “

Before she could finish her thought, Madison had already slammed the car door shut.

“Damn,” Zoe mutters. There goes her weekend plans. Knowing Madison’s temper, it would probably be a few days before Zoe would be allowed to their making out sessions in the school’s parking lot.

She’s stumped, to say the least. Being seventeen and dating your best friend was great, but not when that girl was Madison Montgomery, which came with a hurricane of emotions and at least four door-slams in a week.

Just as she’s feeling sorry for herself, Zoe hears a knock from the glass on her left. She rolls down the window, revealing a wild Madison.

Zoe gets exactly two seconds to react before the blonde sticks her head into Zoe’s car and pulls her face into a kiss. It’s fast, it’s urgent; demanding. Madison’s lips find hers like they’re meant to dance together, a choreography they both knew without learning.

Zoe freezes for a bit - she falls into the rhythm without fail, but a split second later and her lips find nothing. She opens her eyes, and Madison’s already walking away.

There’s a mischievous grin on the blonde’s face, the usual nasty look in her eyes.

“My place tonight.” Madison instructs firmly, before twirling on her cleats and running off in a fit of what Zoe could swear were giggles.


	2. Hands Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slightly drunk Madison and Zoe spending the night together.

Zoe has no idea why she was still in Madison’s room.

It’s 2am on a Friday night, and she can still hear muffled music booming through the windows from the house party down the street. The rhythm felt slurred and off-beat at the same time; and Zoe frowns, doubting if the six beers she had on Madison’s couch was a good idea after all.

“It’s too late to leave, dumbass. You can't even drive.”

The girl's already spread eagle-style across her queen-sized bed, half her face pressed against her pillow and thus muffling her speech. She didn’t even bother pulling the covers back.

Zoe stands over the half-conscious girl, chewing on her bottom lip. Her face feels too hot, and her head is definitely too heavy for her to even walk home now. She doesn't care for ubers either - she’d gotten too anxious while drunk on her way home once, and accidentally hurled all over the backseat. She’d been traumatized since.

So that leaves her one option.

To stay.

As if she read her mind, Madison tosses her body over and turns to face Zoe, with one eye opened.

“Don’t be shy, pretty. Just stay.” The corners of her lips raise teasingly. “I promise I won’t do anything.”

A couple seconds break into themselves, and Zoe decides to be brave.

“Scoot over, asshole. I’m staying.”

The blonde grins so wide, Zoe swears she’d never seen anything brighter.

“But I’m not sharing a bed with you until you brush your teeth.”

-

Twenty minutes later, Zoe is underneath Madison’s duvet, hair pulled back casually and in one of the blonde’s ridiculously oversized black T-shirts.

The air is quiet, almost silent; except for the obnoxiously stubborn dance music that doesn't seem to ever stop. It wasn’t Zoe’s regular taste in music, but there was a heat in her lungs that felt like it was racing against the beat, and Zoe wanted nothing more than to win.

“Zoe?”

Madison’s slurred voice pulls the brunette out of her trance.

“Hmm?”

“I had a really good time tonight.”

Zoe smiles silently, a wave of glee tugging at her lips. She realizes that this has been one of the best nights she’d had in a long time. Spending time with Madison, just doing nothing but enjoying each other’s company was something that had her so relaxed, so comfortable, she’d almost forgotten all about the ridiculous $300 speeding ticket she got earlier in the day. Of course, she'd allowed Madison to peer pressure her into drinking more alcohol than she was comfortable with, but Zoe can't remember the last time she'd laugh so much in a single night.

Her tongue begins to circle on something she couldn’t pinpoint, and she tries to find the right words.

“Me, too.” She replies quietly.

Zoe finishes her sentence with a sigh of relief.

The younger girl lets out a soft chuckle, still moderately drunk.

“I love you,” Madison says casually, almost unintelligible, the alcohol still mulling her syllables.

Oh, _god_. She really is drunk.

Zoe turns at fixes her eyes at the ceiling. It's not the first time Madison's said I love you, but Zoe thinks this is the first time she's said it without mockery or sarcasm. It's out of character; outrageous, even - but Zoe knows that she won't remember saying it in the morning anyways. She tries to tell herself it's just the alcohol talking, but she can't really ignore the way her lungs feel annoyingly warm right now.

Her heart pounding ferociously through her chest, Zoe realizes that there’s still one thing she wanted to do, and she _wants to._

_S_ he holds her breath and counts eight of her own heartbeats. Then something inside of her tells her to _do it_ , and she extends her arm, her hand searching for Madison’s.

Skin and skin collides, and Zoe can’t find the oxygen in her lungs any more.

Madison’s hand was a lot warmer than she’d expected. She assumes it was the alcohol - or maybe she was just trying to find a scapegoat for the uneasiness in her veins, something that was rushing along her bloodstream and pushing everything faster and slower, all at once. But it was a warmth that calmed her, unexpectedly; a haze of relief setting over her heart, making each breath easier than the last. The blonde had small hands - Zoe already knew that, but it still feels so delicate when it's in her palms, like porcelain.

Zoe finds the little crevices in between Madison’s fingers, exploring as gently as she could, curious but cautious. She wiggles softly with her fingertips, both a tease and a question, and the blonde agrees almost instantly - stretching her fingers to allow Zoe’s to come between each of her own.

Madison traces the smooth outlines with the pads of her fingertips, reading shapes without using eyes. Zoe fits the curves of her fingers tighter inside the cracks between Madison's, and the blonde squeezes in a way that speaks: Just like this. Let's stay like this.

And then everything fell into place, the way eyes could be smiles and fingers became bridges between people.

The way stars were written into quiet night skies, and became everything that they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this a long time ago, without any characters in mind in particular but this just seemed to fit :)  
> Thank you guys so much for reading!


	3. Date Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoe's a bit mad at Madison. Madison wants her girlfriend back.

It’s 7am, and Zoe pulls into Madison’s driveway.

It’s nice out, a warm breeze and clear skies, but Zoe’s almost certain Madison’s still sleeping. She grabs her phone and dials for Madison. Her call’s picked up after six rings.

“Who?” Madison groans, groggy with sleep.

“It’s Zoe. Get up, I’m outside already.” Zoe snaps before flipping her phone shut. Zoe literally came over every single day to pick Madison up for school, but the blonde still unfailingly manages to ask who it is every morning.

A half-conscious Madison opens the door, still in a tank top and cotton shorts.

Zoe doesn’t tell Madison how cute she looks with her messy hair and half-opened eyes. And she definitely won’t tell her how sexy she finds Madison’s morning voice when she croaks out a “Hi.”

Just as they’re about to head up the stairs, the two girls are stopped by a voice. “Who’s this?”

Standing by the kitchen hallway is a girl Zoe’s never seen before. She’s dressed in a T-shirt and shorts like Madison’s, with long brown hair and big eyes, holding a mug. She’s smiling, so Zoe tries to return with an awkward grin.

“Oh, right.” Madison rubs her eyes. “This is my cousin Erica. She’s staying with us for a bit.”

“Nice to meet you.” Zoe shakes her hand.

“You too.” Erica has to switch her mug hand to reciprocate. “And you are?”

“This is Zoe.” Madison replies. “She’s a… friend of mine.”

_Damn._

“Have a good morning.” Zoe manages before grabbing the blonde’s hand and storming up the stairs to Madison’s room.

Zoe closes the door. “Friend?”

Madison scratches at her head. “What?”

“Are we dating, Madison?”

“Huh?” The blonde shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Am I just a friend to you?”

“No.”

“Do I embarrass you?”

“No, of course not!”

“Well, you act like it!”

Madison sighs, sitting on her bed. “Look, I don’t even know _what_ we are, okay? We never talk about stuff like that.”

Zoe huffs. “Am I your girlfriend, at least?”

“I guess?” Madison half-asks. “Maybe.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Zoe gets up to leave.

“Wait, wait. You’re my ride!” Madison manages to grab Zoe’s hand before it reaches the doorknob. “Let’s start over, then.”

Zoe waits, her eyebrows arched.

“Date me?” Madison tries.

“No.” Zoe says firmly.

“Why not?” Madison protests.

“Because you’re a fucking bitch, that’s why!”

“But you knew that already!”

Zoe glares at Madison. She drives them to school, but the two don’t speak for the whole ride.

* * *

Zoe finds a slip of paper in her back pocket after gym class in the changing room.

 _Date me_ , written in Madison’s scrawny handwriting. _You haven’t kissed me since yesterday._

Zoe looks up, finding the blonde already staring at her from across the room. It’s too far for Zoe to see the hazel in her eyes, but she can still feel the intensity of her glare.

So Zoe makes sure that she has all of Madison’s attention, and mouths, “No.”

* * *

There’s a piece of paper taped to Zoe’s locker when she’s there to get her books. In magazine-cutout letters, reads, “Date me.”

Zoe finds Madison in another hallway and slams the paper in the blonde’s hands.

“I thought it was creative.” Madison tries innocently. “I spent all of history making that.”

“You’re terrifying. This looks like a ransom note.” Zoe retorts. “And _no_.”

* * *

Zoe’s phone rings out a notification when she’s in the library during free period. It’s a message from Madison, composing only of a link. Zoe clicks, hoping it’s not a virus from the bitter girlfriend-less Madison.

It’s a Spotify playlist with two songs: “Date” by Radwimps, and “ME!” by Taylor Swift.

Zoe texts back a link for “No” by CLC.

* * *

Zoe goes to Madison’s locker after lunch. The two share a history textbook after Madison “accidentally” set hers on fire last month. They still have no clue what to do when they ask for the textbooks back at the end of the semester, but for now they’re fine with sharing as they know each other’s combinations anyways.

A pink slip of paper is taped at the inside of the locker door. Zoe knows it’s for her because it’s positioned right at her eye level, a few inches above Madison’s. She sighs, wondering if it’s time to reconcile with Madison now. Lunch was kind of lonely for Zoe without Madison sitting on her leg the whole time.

_I’ll kiss you whenever you want me to._

* * *

Zoe finds Madison by her locker after the last bell of the day rings. She twirls the tiny blonde around, grabs her face and kisses her.

Madison’s obviously taken off guard - but she melts almost instantly upon contact and the two find a rhythm in their hands and lips.

There’s a whistle coming from some dude in the corner, and Zoe gives the bird, without breaking contact.

It takes a while before they finally stop. Zoe pulls away, finding herself somewhere in hazel eyes.

“Date me.” Zoe says, confidently.

Madison smiles like the light of day, Zoe thinks. “You fucking bitch.”

The shorter one pulls Zoe into her lips again, and they resume their very public make out session, but Zoe doesn’t think she minds the audience. There’s something better holding her there.


	4. Shots of You Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoe gets a camera. Madison is her grumpy model.

“Smile, Madison, please.”

The blonde gives a grunt, crossing her arms. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Zoe sighs. She taps the camera in her hands, an old-school Canon A-1, a black 35mm film camera. Her uncle, who runs a camera shop downtown, gave her the camera as a birthday present last week. Zoe had never been a photographer, but she thought it’d be fun to shoot her first roll of film with Madison as her model.

That is, until she realized how hard it was to work with Madison.

“Mads, please, the sun’s going down.”

The blonde isn’t impressed. “That’s not my problem. I’m not even getting paid for this.”

“You’re not a professional model!” Zoe snaps.

“So why the hell did you ask me to model for you?!”

“Because...” Zoe’s voice softens, playing dumb.

Madison raises her eyebrows, arms still crossed.

“Because you’re the most photogenic person I know?” Zoe tries innocently.

“Hmph.” The blonde softens. 

“Smile for me, please?”

“Why can’t you just take the picture like that? Why do I have to smile?”

“You’re pretty when you smile.” Zoe tries to play dumb again. She brings her camera to her eye and starts to compose her shot through the viewfinder - Madison sitting on the docks, the sunset over the lake as a backdrop. Through the tiny glass, Zoe swears she can see Madison crack half a grin.

“Maybe I’m just pretty.”

“That you are.” Zoe replies, not taking her eye off. Wait for it, she says to herself.

And unfailingly so, the blonde breaks into a shy, genuine smile - the same one she wears whenever Zoe gives her cheesy compliments. Zoe feels an unexplainable kind of satisfaction as her finger hits the shutter just in time, and her camera gives a clean click.

Nice, the brunette mutters silently to herself, pulling the film advance. 

Madison gets up and begins to walk towards Zoe. “I want a taco, Mary Poppins.”

“Huh,” Zoe says absentmindedly. “I think you might have fucked up that last shot.”

“How?”

“Come closer, I think there’s something on your face.”

“Huh? Where?” Madison tries to feel her face with her hands.

“Right...” Zoe leans in, pulling their faces closer. “Here.” She finishes her last syllable by fitting her lips around Madison’s, cheeky as hell. 

“Perv,” the blonde says, after a while. Her pale cheeks are flushed all the way red, unexpectedly blending in with the pinks and oranges of the skies.

Zoe only grins. “How’s that as payment?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> send me prompts :)


End file.
